


family tradition

by mitch23k



Category: Batfamily - Fandom, Batman (Comics), Batman and the Signal (Comics), DCU, DCU (Comics), Detective Comics (Comics)
Genre: bruce makes me sad what else is new, duke my brave son is Going Through It, he's really a member of the family now :(((((((((, takes place during Detective comics #983
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-22 13:32:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17663606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mitch23k/pseuds/mitch23k
Summary: The family had traditons. Some are memorable, good times, like Hannukah all together at the Manor.  Others, secret traditons, are more insidious...But inevitable.





	family tradition

Bruce sits beside the bed of his son and clenches his fist to keep from openly weeping.

This is always the worst - the silent, watchful vigil he enacts on members of his family. He’s done it with all of them, and even a few who aren’t family members precisely. Jim Gordon comes to mind, but then, he was more or less family at this point, wasn’t he? His family was huge; sometimes he’d get sappingly sentimental during Hanukkah and consider inviting all of them: Kate and Bette, Jim and Barbara, all his kids of course, Stephanie (begrudgingly), Lucius and Luke and Tam and Tiffany, Helena and Selina, Julia, Harper and Cullen, everyone. But then he’d factor in any friction within the groups, consider if some, like Jason and Harper and Stephanie would even _want_ to come, recall that he might have to invite members of the League and their plus ones (Diana and Clark (plus Lois and Jon), for example, were regular invitees), and most importantly, note that people like Tiffany and Lucius and Cullen, who didn’t know all the secrets of the family, could pose a risk left in the Manor for too long. In the end, he’d assemble the children willing to associate with him at that time, give Kate a half-hearted call, and maybe allow Selina to bring a guest.

Family. His family was under his protection.

Any yet he kept having to perform these solemn, lonely vigils.

Duke, the newest member of his family, lay before him, bruised and broken and _hurt,_ from an attempted assassination attempt. Lark had been trying to save a civilian with a bomb strapped to his chest when it went off, blowing his son sky-high and the civilian to an untimely death.

He’d been awake for a moment on the operating table, before the morphine had been broken out, and had murmured through cracked, bleeding lips, a question: “Did the kid make it?”

He hadn’t, obviously. Bruce had shook his head and told Duke that it wasn’t his fault before he slipped away into sleep again. A bomb at ten feet will do that to you. It was a miracle that he’d even lived. _It had been close,_ Bruce thought to himself.

Another explosion, years before, miles away, flashed through his mind. Jason, broke and bleeding and _hurt_ before him, cold as ice.

_Far too close._

He hated damn explosions.

Duke stirred absently on the cot. Bruce stroked his fingers up and down his son’s arm, lulling him back to the sweet release of slumber, repeating _you’re okay you’re okay everything’s okay go back to sleep,_ until Duke stopped moving. That was almost worse, though. Duke’s chest rose and fell faintly. Bruce was half tempted to rouse him just to remind himself that Duke was alive, but he resisted the selfish notion and went back to his previous brooding position.

Duke had never been injured under the watch of Batman before. He was already somewhat skilled in hand-to-hand combat before coming into the inner circle, and his metahuman abilities helped greatly. He took to detective training and coding quickly. He was an excellent student, truth be told. Eager to learn and quick to enact his training in combat. Got along well with his kids, especially Damian and Stephanie, who were quickly becoming a tour de force together. Dick liked his spunk, Jason reportedly appreciated his spirit, Cass and Tim thought he was funny, and worse, he understood those memes they were always talked about and would respond to their “Vine”  references with his own. Yes, his kids liked him, Alfred took well to him, and he had great prowess on the field. More than Bruce could’ve hoped for. Duke had given him 100%, and Bruce had allowed him to be led into a trap.

He never should have let Duke patrol alone this early in his training, accelerated though it may be. He never should have work on this case without assistance, knowing that Karma was lurking throughout the city, waiting to take out Batman’s associates. He already had Oracle and Black Lightning on the case, but still. He never should have let this happen. He was stupid, shortsighted, arrogant, impatient, idio-

“Br’ss,” Duke mumbled weakly.

“Right here,” Batman responded, immediately back into his intimidating tone. Duke flinched and cracked open an eye. Bruce mentally punched himself in the face and relaxed his voice. “How do you feel?”

“Exploded…” Duke managed, trying to stretch against his stitches and failed, curling in on himself. He nobly tried to bite back a groan. Bruce rested his hand on Duke’s shoulder.

“You’re in rough shape. You’re stable, but don’t overdo it. You lost a fair amount of blood.”

“Feels like it.”

Bruce managed a faint smile and pulled the sheet more comfortably across his partner. “You should rest.”

“I’m s’rry,” Duke whispered, eyes closed again.

Bruce swallowed tightly. “You have nothing to be sorry for, Duke. You tried your best to save him. I can’t ask for more.”

It was more than that. He remembered the first time he’d lost a civilian, never would forget the terrified look on the woman’s face as the twenty-year old vigilante before her tried to stem the bleeding from her stomach.

_(Stomach wounds, nearly always fatal, he should have jumped in front of her in time, should’ve been faster-)_

Dick had been there too. He tried to stifle his sobs but it was impossible - he was only twelve, and he hadn’t caught a jumper in time. The blood staining the concrete was reminiscent, Bruce was painfully aware, of Dick’s parents, and he’d hurried him back to the manor.

Barbara had taken a bullet for a young child but hadn't been able to get up fast enough to protect him from the second shot during her first year as Batgirl. Jason had lost Gloria Sanchez, to disastrous results. He could still feel his entire world be pulled out from under his feet as he saw Felipe Garzonas on the cement, dead, maybe from his son.  Tim and Cass had been on the same case when they lost a man to Two-Face. Stephanie hadn’t been Robin yet, but had been patrolling as Spoiler once with Batman when they were unable to revive a O.D. victim. She’d sobbed and tried CPR nearly ten times before Batman had managed to get Cass to come around to do something - Bruce was always useless when it came to Stephanie.

He hadn’t been there for Damian. Three days before Bruce’s return, Dick and Damian had lost a woman on patrol to a bullet to her stomach courtesy of Penguin. He hadn’t been there to help his youngest son get past it, and that was one of the greatest regrets of his life. Though, of course, he had too many to count at this time.

Duke eyes were screwed shut and he was clearly trying to hold back tears. Whether it was from the pain, or the kid, or a combination, Bruce didn’t know, but he carefully pulled Duke to his chest all the same and said _it’s okay it’s okay it’s okay it’s okay it’s okay it’s okay it’s okay_ until Duke had lapsed into sleep again.

Bruce stayed with him until morning. It was a night of traditions, after all. First injury, first civilian loss. It made Bruce sick to think of it like that, but he made himself face what’d he put all his children through full throttle.

Duke was truly a member of the family now, and Bruce hated himself for it.


End file.
